Chapter 13 — How the aforesaid relations are predicated of God

Nevertheless, it cannot be said that the aforesaid relations exist extraneously as something outside God.

For, since God is the first being and highest good, (Bk. 1, cc. 13, 41.) it would be necessary to consider yet other relations of God to those relations that are realities. And if these also are realities, we shall again have to find third relations, and so on indefinitely. Therefore, the relations by which God is referred to other things are not really existing outside God.

Again. A thing is predicated denominatively in two ways. For a thing may be denominated from that which is outside it (for instance, a person is said to be “somewhere” from place, and “sometime” from time), and a thing may be denominated from that which is in it (as a person is denominated “white” from whiteness). On the other hand, a thing is not found to be denominated from a relation as extraneous, but as inherent: for a man is not denominated a father except from fatherhood, which is in him. Therefore, it is impossible for the relations by which God is referred to creatures to be realities outside him.

Since, then, it has been proved (Ch. 12.) that they are not really in him, and yet are predicated of him, (Ch. 11.) it remains that they are ascribed to him according only to our way of understanding, from the fact that other things are referred to him. For our intellect, in understanding one thing to be referred to another, understands at the same time that the latter is related to the former, although sometimes it is not really related at all.

Therefore, it is also evident that the aforesaid relations are not said of God in the same way as other things predicated of God. For all other things—like wisdom and will—predicate his essence, whereas the aforesaid relations predicate minimally, but solely according to our way of understanding. And yet our understanding is not false. For from the very fact that our intellect understands that the relations of the divine effects terminate in God himself, it predicates certain things of him relatively: even so we understand and express the knowable relatively from the fact that our knowledge is referred to it.